Microplastics in decedents with and without dementia

Rising global concentrations of environmental micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) drive concerns for human exposure and health outcomes. Complementary methods for the robust detection of tissue MNPs, including pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, confirm the presence of MNPs in human kidney, liver, and brain. MNPs in these organs primarily consist of polyethylene, with lesser but significant concentrations of other polymers. Brain tissues harbor higher proportions of polyethylene compared to the plastic composition in the liver or kidney, and electron microscopy verified the nature of the isolated brain MNPs, which present largely as nanoscale shard-like fragments. Plastic concentrations in these decedent tissues were not influenced by age, sex, race/ethnicity, or cause of death, the time of death (2016 versus 2024) was a significant factor, with incre..., Human Tissue Samples: The same tissue collection protocol at the UNM OMI was used for 2016 and 2024. Small pieces of representative organs (3 to 5 cm3) were routinely collected at autopsy and stored in 10% formalin. Additionally, decedent samples from a cohort with confirmed dementia (N=12) were included and collected at the UNM OMI under identical procedures. Limited demographic data (age, sex, race/ethnicity, cause of death, date of death) were available due to the conditions of specimen approval; age of death, race/ethnicity, and sex were relatively consistent across cohorts (Table S1).  Additional brain samples (N=28) were obtained from repositories on the East Coast of the United States to provide a greater range for the year of death (going back to 1997). All studies were approved by the respective Institutional Review Boards.
Py-GC/MS Detection of Polymer Solids: Briefly, solid particulates are isolated from chemically digested tissue samples, then combusted to reveal signature m..., , # Microplastics in decedents with and without dementia

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.b8gtht7p8](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.b8gtht7p8)

## Description of the data and file structure

Demographic and analytical results of samples for plastics using pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PyGCMS). \"Null\" is used to denote cells where log-transformed values of zero would cause an error. \"Unknown\" refers to data lost in the record.

### Files and variables

#### File: All\_Organs\_total\_spreadsheet\_NatMed.csv

##### Variables

* Organ (Brain, Liver, Kidney)
* Tube Letter: Sample identifier
* DOD: Date of death (year)
* Age: Age (years)
* COD: Cause of death (1=accident/trauma; 2= substance use related; 3=natural disease or undetermined)
* Total: Sum of all polymers in micrograms/gram of tissue weight
* PE: Polyethylene in micrograms/gram of tissue weight
* PP: Polypropylene in micrograms/gram of tissue weight
* PS: Polystyrene in micrograms/gram of tissue weight
* ABS: Acrylon...